


Warrior's Repose

by Miss_Von_Cheese



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-07
Updated: 2014-04-07
Packaged: 2018-01-18 12:46:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1429084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Von_Cheese/pseuds/Miss_Von_Cheese
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>21st century men have a strict etiquette when it comes to sharing bathrooms and showers. Asgardians and super-soldiers, on the other hand, absolutely do not care.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warrior's Repose

There were a lot of things to be assumed about Steve Roger’s private life, a lot of them were true and strangely most of the rumors in the team were spread by Tony who heard his father talk to his old friends about the man he admired so much. Natasha could confirm most of them though, as a spy and as a woman.

It was said that Steve Rogers was a virgin, that was true. It was said that he didn’t know how to talk to women, that he couldn’t seduce women and was easily embarrassed around them, and nothing could have been more true. He treated the women in Stark Tower like ladies and always looked down when he climbed the stairs behind Pepper not to see the top of her thighs -or much worse!-. He was polite, extremely shy and avoided all kinds of sex talk with the team when Natasha was here, to protect her chaste ears. He was embarrassed when his female colleagues were not just soldiers anymore but actual ladies to hang out with, and he acted in a way that would have made his mother proud.

But that was just one side of Steve and if the boys were certain they knew him so well because of that, they soon realized that his gentlemanly reservations towards women were not the same at all in an all men environment. The first time they found themselves sharing the new communal showers Stark had built in the tower just for them, all sweaty and dirty after a rough mission, the Avengers remembered that their lovely 90 years old had been in the Army. In 1942. He had bathed in cold streams of central Europe with dozens of dirty soldiers, been seen naked by his men and had seen them naked several times, he was no stranger to dirty jokes even if he didn’t repeat them in front of the ladies and not having experience didn’t prevent him from being the most comfortable in these situations. 

When Clint and Phil -who had already covered each other in lovebites before the debrief-, Bruce, and Tony, simply looked at the tiled wall, leaving enough room between them not to seem too promiscuous and certainly didn’t look at each other, hiding their private parts as soon as they could behind towels, Thor and Steve weren’t so self-conscious about their bodies. They joked and shared shampoo, clapped each other’s back, laughed and reenacted the most epic moments of their fights like two medieval warriors. Their nudity didn’t seem to be a problem at all, much to their friends’ embarrassment.

After a few minutes, unable to leave the stream of hot water after such a rough and cold mission in Norway, Tony couldn’t help turning towards them with an annoyed sigh, hiding his crotch behind his hands.

“Guys, I don’t mean to be rude but really? Are we gonna go there? Agent and Barton are gay and they look straighter than you, can’t you just… stop with the dangling bits show?” he asked with a disgusted pout. “Will you stop acting like kids?”

Thor looked at Tony with a frown, unsure to understand what bothered him, and Steve smirked, his left eyebrow raising in a funny way. 

“What’s that Stark, are we afraid of a penis? Or just those that are not yours?” he sassed, amused by their friend’s sudden modesty. “Seems you’re not always a show off after all.” 

Steve stretched under the hot water and kept chatting with Thor for a while about their fighting techniques, discussing the way they could improve and trick their opponents while the others desperately looked at the wall to respect all the manly social conventions of 21st century. When Steve let out a surprised exclamation and innocently swore that “Bummer, my soap bar fell!”, Tony and Bruce had to bite their cheeks while Phil buried his face in his hands to hide his giggles. Unaware of their dirty thoughts, Thor simply picked up the soap and gave it back to his friend just before Phil stormed out of the showers, laughing like a seal. Steve shook his head and kept washing himself. Thor and he didn’t understand why they were all so prude. 

* * *

As the Avengers got to know each others, living in Stark Tower, Thor and Steve soon became close friends; their lack of common modesty when it came to manly friendships still shocked the others but it wasn’t rare that they did things together, and Tony nicknamed them the Old School Blondes -among several other pet names. Steve would fall asleep in Thor’s lap during movie nights, or be awakened by the demigod to go in an adventure in New-York -“Let’s gather sweet beverages for our friends at the Buck of Stars, Steven!”-, and they talked rather openly about any kind of topics, even the most intimate. Yet when Natasha was around, Steve kept shutting down, unable to get rid of his shyness even if he did know she wasn’t an angel. There were some topics to avoid in front of ladies.

One day after a mission in Australia that had left them completely jetlagged they found themselves half awake in the kitchen of Steve’s floor, all drinking awful mixes of coffee and tea and yawning loudly. Bruce and Natasha had ran away to their bedrooms -or did she fall asleep in her personal shower?- and Tony announced that he was going to do the same when Thor asked a genuine and innocent question.

“And is there such thing as Warrior’s repose on Midgard?” 

Clint barely looked up from behind his mug, Steve contained a yawn. “Uh, I don’t think so… what’s this supposed to be?”

“When warriors come back after a fight on Asgard, it is well advised to prepare a feast for them, so that they can eat and drink as much as they want, it’s a way to show gratitude -- let me tell you half of the feast is always devoured by Volstagg. There are also some young people who gladly help them relax through sexual activities. Lady Sif always picks two or three pretty squires to share her bed.” 

Clint rested his head on his forearms with a groan while Phil assured Thor that no, they didn’t do this anymore, but some ladies were sometimes paid to entertain the troops. Steve couldn’t help blushing, he kind of had been such a lady with the USO, but probably more ridiculous. 

“I wanted to ask you…” Thor started as he finished his third coffee mug. “Since you and Clint are a couple, are there social conventions setting rules for such relationships?”

“I’m afraid to ask what you mean,” Phil replied with a worried look.

“How do two men who bed each other decide who is on top and who is the maiden? Even if of course they never really are maiden… do you, Son of Coul, go on top for you are older and more experienced or does Clint’s strength grant him this place?” 

Steve hid a smirk behind his mug, amused by Phil’s look and Clint’s horrified face. He would have answered himself, had he known the answer, but it was funny to watch their friends lose it. The archer got up with a sigh. 

“Aaand you guys lost me here, goodnight everyone, I just can’t go further, sorry!” 

Phil shot his boyfriend a deadly glare, promising him all kinds of tortures for daring not help him give Thor the bird and bees talk. Yet, unflappable as always, the agent simply smiled, slightly tilted his head and explained as his lover ran away.

“There are no rules, no. We do what we like, when we like it and there is no protocol except for asking your partner if they’re really willing to do this. Sometimes I want to do something and Clint too so we… do it, sometimes he will want it differently and I will like it too. Communication is the key. Is that so codified on Asgard?” 

Steve had to admit Coulson had a real talent to talk about things without naming them, yet he didn’t expect him to ask for more information. Thor smiled as if they had been talking about their last hunt and poured himself another coffee, picking a mini-donut on Phil’s pile.

“There are no strict rules, you are not going to be punished if you don’t respect the social conventions but it’s… it’s commonly admitted that the oldest, or the strongest is in charge. But there are several kinds of exceptions, I for example am much older and stronger than you, Phil, so I would be the hunter and you the prey, at least during our first encounters when we yet have to define our roles. Then it might change later. But if I were to bed Steve who is my Captain on Midgard, I would be honored and proud to give myself to him for he’s my trusted leader, as a mark of respect.”

This time, the soldier had trouble not blushing behind his mug at the thought of taking Thor. He had never imagined that, too comfortable in their close friendship, but it wasn’t such a disgusting idea. On the other side of the counter Phil barely contained an amused smile and his eyebrows screamed a _“Why don’t you two get a room already?”_ that Steve didn't get. 

“What about you, Steve?” Thor asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I understand you come from an era when the world was different? Did your fellow soldiers comfort each other after the battles?”

“Yes, they did… sometimes girls were paid to come to the camps but they were treated really badly so the Howling Commandos tried not to go to them too much. A lot of men were comforting each other, sometimes with sex, sometimes it was just for a bit of affection after the horrors of the day. We did not care who did what to whom, we just knew that sometimes you need someone, no matter what.”

Phil nodded slowly. “Really? I thought that since people were much more religious back in the days…”

“Oh, a lot of our boys would have never admitted what they had done after the war but deep into the forest, at night, nobody cared. After seeing what we saw, all the atrocities, the massacres, the pain and death of thousands, some men completely lost their faith. And those whose faith grew stronger were all ready to admit God was looking the other way, or at least not at Eastern Europe during this war.”

Phil shook his head with a sad smile. “I can understand that.” He got up from his stool, stretched and yawned. “Ok boys, I’m going to bed. This was an interesting conversation but you know if the Hawk doesn’t get enough cuddles he’s grouchy in the morning. See you all at 14:00 for the debrief!”

Thor and Steve saluted him, blessing his bravery during today’s mission and watched him as he walked out of the apartment. Steve munched on yet another mini-donut, lost in his thoughts. He was thinking about Bucky and the commandos, the rare good moments, the strange way everyone had accepted his authority, how he had become a leader once again. 

“Would you like that?” Thor asked and Steve didn’t even have to ask what he was talking about. It just seemed casual, normal. He couldn’t be talking about anything else and the simplicity of the question was reassuring like good moments with a friend. 

And even if Steve had never done anything sinful before, he heard himself reply a soft “Yes…”. Yes, why not? He felt like he didn’t know what he was getting himself into but he trusted Thor. Yes he would probably like that.

When he looked back to him Thor had one of his signature grins, he seemed genuinely happy as if he had been promised a good feast. Steve saw him get up and come to him, and the next thing he knew he was crushed against a large chest, lost in a strange mix of a feverish kiss and a bear hug. Thor kissed like a God, passionate and benevolent. His hands found Steve's ass, he cupped it then lifted him effortlessly, getting him to moan. The soldier wrapped his legs around Thor's waist, amazed by the sensation, feeling so small for once. The large hands traveled down his thighs then up while they kissed like old lovers, easily finding what the other wanted. Steve nibbled on Thor's bottom lip, laughed as the short beard tickled his cheek, his throat, and his neck. 

 

Later that day, as the sun was already high above the skyscrapers, Steve was drawing intricate designs on the small of Thor’s back with a marker when the Asgardian asked again, “Would you like that?” 

Steve didn’t need more than a look to guess that Thor meant for it to be more than just soldier’s comfort. He smirked. He had no idea what it could become, a stronger friendship, maybe more, but he wouldn’t refuse any good moment he could get. 

“Like what? A good breakfast and another round?” 

Thor laughed, a low rumble that shook the bed, but didn’t move not to erase Steve’s masterpiece on his skin.

* * *

When after their next mission, a few weeks later, Steve found himself in the communal showers with the team once again, he realized it wouldn’t be as easy as he thought to be naked around his lover in public and remain collected. The memories of long days and nights laughing together in their birthday suits made it difficult to fool around in the shower and remain decent. Steve looked at the tiles on the walls, just as Thor did. Both suddenly seemed shy and self-conscious, and they missed Phil’s knowing look. Just before he walked out of the room, Tony called them out.

“Guys, I’m glad you finally decided to act like gentlemen. It’s not that I don’t like when you’re having fun but it’s better if you wear pants, you know? Thanks for keeping private parts, well... private!”

He was about to leave, proud of himself for bringing peace and decency back in the communal showers, but Steve let out a soft chuckle. “You’re welcome, Tony. I know how some things make you uneasy. You might wanna avoid the showers for the next hour, what you could see might make you really uncomfortable.” 

Steve didn’t look as Tony let out a strangled shocked noise, too amused by Thor’s loud snort. They definitely were on the same wavelength. 

Steve was as rumors predicted, he was a gentleman and treated women like ladies. But in some cases he was more open-minded than his modern team, and it felt good not to be the oblivious grandpa for once. And to have shoulder to lean on when he needed someone to listen.

**Author's Note:**

> I think the only thing I like more than Thundershield is when Coulson ships them too!
> 
> (I am sorry, no beta and English is not my first language. If a mistake bothers you, you can tell me.)


End file.
